Hancock, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Hancock is a town in Hillsborough County
, New Hampshire
, United States
. The population was 1,654 at the 2010 census. Hancock is home to the Welch Family Farm Forest.
The main village of the town, where 204 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hancock census-designated place
(CDP), and is located at the junction of New Hampshire routes 123
and 137
.
Hancock started as an unidentified settlement on the Contoocook River
, in lands known as Society Land or Cumberland, which had been reserved for the proprietors of the lands which became New Hampshire
. First settled in 1764, the town was set off from Peterborough
and incorporated in 1779, named Hancock in honor of John Hancock
. A landowner of 1875 acres (8 km²) in the community, Hancock was the first governor of the state
of Massachusetts
, president of the Continental Congress
, and signer of the Declaration of Independence
.
Almost every building on Main Street in downtown Hancock is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Hancock's Meetinghouse is home to Paul Revere's
#236 bell, which chimes on the hour, day and night. The town does not have paved sidewalks, but gravel paths leading from home to home.
, the town has a total area of 31.2 square miles (80.8 km²), of which 30 sq mi (77.7 km²) are land and 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) are water, comprising 4.00% of the town. Hancock is drained by the Contoocook River. Powder Mill Pond
is in the east, and Nubanusit Lake
is on the western border. Skatutakee Mountain
, the highest point in Hancock, has an elevation of 2002 feet (610.2 m) above sea level
. Hancock lies fully within the Merrimack River
watershed
.
of 2000, there were 1,739 people, 706 households, and 494 families residing in the town. The population density
was 58.0 people per square mile (22.4/km²). There were 814 housing units at an average density of 27.2 per square mile (10.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.39% White, 0.23% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.06% from other races
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.40% of the population.
There were 706 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples
living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,000, and the median income for a family was $64,423. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $31,200 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $29,445. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 380,841 people, 144,455 households, and 98,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 149,961 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 1,654 at the 2010 census. Hancock is home to the Welch Family Farm Forest.
The main village of the town, where 204 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hancock census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP), and is located at the junction of New Hampshire routes 123
New Hampshire Route 123
New Hampshire Route 123 is a long secondary north–south state highway in southwestern New Hampshire. The southern terminus of the route is at the Massachusetts state line in Mason where, as Valley Road, the road continues as an unnumbered local road in the town of Townsend...
and 137
New Hampshire Route 137
New Hampshire Route 137 is a long secondary north–south state highway in southern New Hampshire. The road runs between Jaffrey and Hancock....
.
History
Contoocook River
The Contoocook River is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Pool Pond and Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/Rindge border to Penacook , where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that flow in a predominantly northward direction...
, in lands known as Society Land or Cumberland, which had been reserved for the proprietors of the lands which became New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. First settled in 1764, the town was set off from Peterborough
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....
and incorporated in 1779, named Hancock in honor of John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
. A landowner of 1875 acres (8 km²) in the community, Hancock was the first governor of the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, president of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
.
Almost every building on Main Street in downtown Hancock is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Hancock's Meetinghouse is home to Paul Revere's
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
#236 bell, which chimes on the hour, day and night. The town does not have paved sidewalks, but gravel paths leading from home to home.
Notable inhabitants
- Oren B. CheneyOren B. CheneyOren Burbank Cheney was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist, and a Free Will Baptist clergyman.-Early life:...
, abolitionist, Free Baptist preacher, founder of Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists... - Person C. Cheney, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire
- Joseph GrewJoseph GrewJoseph Clark Grew was a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer. He was the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Vienna when Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 9, 1917. Later he was the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark 1920–1921 and U.S....
, United States Ambassador to JapanUnited States Ambassador to JapanThe United States Ambassador to Japan is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States to Japan. Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period following the attack on... - Sam HuntingtonSam HuntingtonSam Huntington is an American actor, best known for his role as Mimi-Siku in the 1990s film "Jungle 2 Jungle" and as Jimmy Olsen in "Superman Returns". He now stars in the TV series Being Human.- Personal life :...
, actor - Howard MansfieldHoward MansfieldHoward Mansfield is an American author who writes about history, preservation, and architecture. He was born in Huntington, New York, and graduated from Syracuse University in 1979. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife, writer Sy Montgomery.- Author:Turn and Jump: How Time and Place Fell...
, author - Charles E. Merrill Jr.Charles E. Merrill Jr.Charles E. Merrill Jr. , is an American educator, author and philanthropist, best-known for supporting historically black colleges and founding the Commonwealth School in Boston.-Early life:...
, educator - Jay Pierrepont MoffatJay Pierrepont MoffatJay Pierrepont Moffat was an American diplomat, historian and statesman who, between 1917 and 1943, served the State Department in a variety of posts, including that of Ambassador to Canada during the first year of U.S...
, United States Ambassador to Canada - Sy Montgomery, author, adventurer
- Lilla Cabot PerryLilla Cabot PerryLilla Cabot Perry was an American artist who worked in the Impressionist style, rendering portraits and landscapes in the free form manner of her mentor, Claude Monet. Perry was an early advocate of the French Impressionist style and contributed to its reception in the United States...
, artist - Wallace TrippWallace TrippWallace Whitney Tripp is an American illustrator, anthologist and author. He is known for creating anthropomorphic animal characters of emotional complexity and for his great visual and verbal humor. He is one of several illustrators of the Amelia Bedelia series of children's stories...
, illustrator - Elizabeth Yates, author and historian
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 31.2 square miles (80.8 km²), of which 30 sq mi (77.7 km²) are land and 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) are water, comprising 4.00% of the town. Hancock is drained by the Contoocook River. Powder Mill Pond
Powder Mill Pond
Powder Mill Pond is a impoundment on the Contoocook River in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, United States. The pond's dam is located in the town of Bennington, with water impounded into the towns of Hancock and Greenfield....
is in the east, and Nubanusit Lake
Nubanusit Lake
Nubanusit Lake is a lake located on the border between Cheshire and Hillsborough counties in southwestern New Hampshire, United States, in the towns of Nelson and Hancock. The outlet of the lake is Nubanusit Brook, a tributary of the Contoocook River in the Merrimack River drainage basin....
is on the western border. Skatutakee Mountain
Skatutakee Mountain
Skatutakee Mountain is a monadnock located in Hancock, New Hampshire approximately east of the city of Keene and north of Mount Monadnock. The mountain shares a common base with Thumb Mountain, , to the west...
, the highest point in Hancock, has an elevation of 2002 feet (610.2 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Hancock lies fully within the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,739 people, 706 households, and 494 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 58.0 people per square mile (22.4/km²). There were 814 housing units at an average density of 27.2 per square mile (10.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.39% White, 0.23% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.06% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.40% of the population.
There were 706 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,000, and the median income for a family was $64,423. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $31,200 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $29,445. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- Hancock Historical Society Museum
- Very Long Baseline ArrayVery Long Baseline ArrayThe Very Long Baseline Array is a system of ten radio telescopes controlled remotely from the Array Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The array works together as the world's largest dedicated, full-time astronomical instrument using the...
radio telescope